Markets tank for 6th straight session as bears tighten grip on bourses, Sensex falls 137 pts

Mumbai: Equity benchmarks capitulated in fag-end trade on Friday to post their sixth straight session of loss as investors fled for safety amid dismal macroeconomic data and persistent selling by foreign investors.

Building on a firm start, the 30-share BSE Sensex rallied over 800 points in afternoon trade but buckled under intense selling pressure to finish 136.69 points or 0.26 per cent lower at 52,793.62 — its lowest closing level since July 30, 2021.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty dipped 25.85 points or 0.16 per cent to settle at 15,782.15.

SBI was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tumbling 3.76 per cent, after the country's largest lender reported a 41 per cent surge in Q4 standalone net profit at Rs 9,114 crore but failed to meet analysts' estimates.

ICICI Bank, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Maruti and Tata Steel were among the other losers, shedding as much as 2.65 per cent.

In contrast, Sun Pharma, M&M, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Titan, Reliance and Nestle India were among the gainers, climbing up to 3.76 per cent.

The broader market managed to end in the green on Friday, with the BSE smallcap gauge jumping 1.28 per cent and midcap gaining 0.79 per cent.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.09 per cent to $108.6 per barrel.

The rupee pared its initial gains and settled 5 paise lower at its fresh lifetime low of 77.55 against the US dollar on Friday, as inflation concerns and strength of the American currency weighed on the

local unit.